Russia's New Hypersonic Missile Travels Nearly Two Miles a Second
Russia has tested a new hypersonic anti-ship missile that can travel a blistering 6,138 miles an hour, or 1.7 miles a second. The missile, known as Zircon, will attack ships at sea and land-based targets. It is in all likelihood unstoppable by modern air defenses.
CNBC reports that Russia has tested the Zircon anti-ship missile five times, with the latest test occuring on December 10. The December test hit a top speed of Mach 8, or 6,138 miles an hour. CNBC quoted two anonymous U.S. government officials with direct knowledge of an intelligence report on the test. The latest test proved the Russians were capable of achieving sustained flight-a difficult goal in hypersonic flight research.
The network’s source also said that it was clear Zircon was being diversified away from being a purely anti-ship missile to also strike land targets. It is expected to enter production in 2021 and service with the Russian Navy in 2022.
Not much is known about Zircon. According to Naval Technology, development of the missile goes back to 2011. Under development by NPO Mashinostroeniya Military-Industrial Corporation, it could be a domestic version of the Indian-Russian BrahMos II hypersonic missile system. Naval Technology claims the missile is known internally in Russia as 3K22 (the equivalent of calling a Sidewinder air-to-air missile the AIM-9X).
Naval Technology quotes BrahMos II as having a range of 300 kilometers, or 186 miles. That’s likely a number chosen in order for both countries to adhere to the Missile Control Technology Regime, an international agreement which seeks to slow the spread of nuclear missile technology by limiting the range of exportable missiles capable of carrying one ton warheads to 186 miles. India and Russia are both MCTR signatories. Missiles built by either country for domestic use, however, would have no such range limitation.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia’s-new-hypersonic-missile-travels-nearly-two-miles-a-second/ar-BBRsYvE?li=BBnbcA1
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Get out your MAGA hat and Russian flag! Surely Pooty Poot would never attack his own satellite country.
